Evaluation of the impact of Drug Summit initiatives in two NSW regions

Abstract

As part of an evaluation of the impact of New South Wales Drug Summit
initiatives, the Australian Institute of Criminology was commissioned to
undertake an analysis of pre- and post-Summit drug indicator data in two key New
South Wales regions, Western Sydney and Northern Rivers. The 1999 Drug Summit
triggered an overall improvement in the number and type of a wide range of drug
programs and strategies targeting illicit drugs in the two regions, including in
the areas of: drug prevention and education; drug treatment; health and welfare
training; research; and law enforcement. With respect to health and law
enforcement in the two regions, the study finds that: fewer people now suffer
from drug-related harm than they did in 1997, and there have been declines in
the number of drug related deaths, the number of ambulance attendances at
overdoses and the number of illicit drug-related emergency department
presentations; there has been an increase in the number of people accessing
methadone/buprenorphine pharmacotherapy treatment in the regions; and the number
of charges for dealing or trafficking in prohibited drugs has varied greatly in
both regions since 1999, with no consistent upward or downward trend.

A report prepared by the Australian Institute of Criminology for the NSW Cabinet Office